Electricity at any price
AMONG all this tit-for-tat discussion regarding electricity supplies – where both sides claim to offer the best and cheapest – there’s nobody willing to guarantee that the lights won't go out during the operating hours of renewable energy generators.
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I don't care which electricity source is best, or cheapest, because if supply ends up being restricted, or regulated, as was petrol long ago, then supply and price take on a whole new meaning.
When petrol was in short supply people would pay any price to fill their tank. And if retailers of electricity are given the same control, you can forget about paying the right price because people will pay any price.
I would advise people to choose wisely before demonising coal-fired electricity because it, by itself, can keep the wheels of industry moving without additional help, or back-up.
But renewables can't afford not to have coal-fired electricity as a compulsory back-up supply. It's like placing the horse before the cart, not knowing the size of the cart or the load it must carry.
- Carl Stevenson, Dora Creek
Wangi misses GP surgery
ACCORDING to locals and old timers, there has been a medical presence, in one form or another, in Wangi Wangi for most of its 100-plus years.
Wangi Wangi was originally an isolated area, and regarded as rural, so medical practitioners gave of themselves to the community in difficult times. Today, Wangi Wangi is not so isolated, nor times quite so hard, yet there remains the need for medical assistance for this out-of-the-way town and its population with various needs – from babies to aged retirees.
So it was with great shock and dismay that we viewed the closure of Wangi Wangi’s surgery this week.
Over the years, the surgery had gradually increased the services available which especially helped those patients with no or limited transport.
To support the Wangi Wangi surgery, please attend resident Phil Olsen’s public meeting outside the surgery, on French Road, at 3pm on Thursday, August 30.
- Sonja Dyke-Clark, Wangi Wangi
Lights are working
TRAFFIC lights on Hillsborough Road near the roundabout at Warners Bay appear to be a success. The pedestrian fence is doing its job, but has highlighted the need for regular maintenance. It’s a real eyesore and that whole corner of the roundabout and the creek needs an urgent upgrade.
- Neil Meyers, Warners Bay
Time for water bans
IT’S OBVIOUS we are going to be in for a long dry summer. Shouldn't we be starting water conservation plans now? It's no good waiting until the levels in our dams become critical to introduce them. Many of my neighbours are not only watering their lawns but also their nature strips using what is going to become a scarce commodity. Bans now will mean more essential water is available when it’s needed later.
- Ann Ellis, Merewether
Still waiting for the $550
JOSH Frydenberg promises Australians $550 savings on their electricity bills, so should the state governments agree to his NEG? Do the Liberals take Aussies for mugs? Perhaps Josh needs to be reminded that we're still waiting for the $550 Tony Abbott promised us when he destroyed the carbon tax, the cleverest and most effective measure we have come up with to reduce carbon emissions to date. We have never been in such dire need of a federal election.
- John Lawton, Belmont
More than a drought
IT’S time to end denial. It's not drought. It's desertification. Sorry.
- Niko Leka, Mayfield
